Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce, People

Location

5 Baker Rd, Hopewell Junction, NY 12533, USA

Lat/Long

41.613924, -73.71021

Grant Recipient

Dutchess County Department of History

In 1869, Albert Tower (1817-1891) purchased the former farm of Elnathan Haxtun (1795-1862) from Haxtun’s son William, who was acting as the executor of his father’s will. The former Haxtun farm comprised 196-acres in the town of Beekman in Dutchess County, New York, and included the dwelling on the corner of Baker and Beekman Roads. Haxtun, a large landowner and prominent member of the community, served in the New York State Assembly in 1846 and as Beekman Town Supervisor from 1835 to 1839 and again in 1854. According to James H. Smith’s 1882 History of Dutchess County, Tower, who resided in the city of Poughkeepsie, would come to use the Beekman house as his summer home after purchasing the property from the Haxtun family.

Tower was the founder and president of the Poughkeepsie Iron Company, which was organized in 1875 for the manufacture of pig iron, also known as crude iron. Prior to this, he worked as superintendent of the Poughkeepsie Iron Works Company, a predecessor to the Poughkeepsie Iron Company. Tower also operated an iron mine in Beekman, located across the road from his summer residence in the town. According to Smith’s History of Dutchess County, the mine was believed to have been discovered by Elnathan Haxtun’s son William around 1846, and was put into operation unearthing hematite when Tower purchased the property in 1869. The History of Dutchess County stated that in 1882, Tower’s iron mine in Beekman was considered to be one of the most valuable in the county and employed around 30 individuals.